Earth Day falls on April 22nd every year, and it’s a good reminder that we need to think about the way we treat our planet. It’s important to consider the choices we make in our home that affect our energy consumption. Think about it.

There may be several areas of your home that aren’t as efficient as they should be and are wasting energy, but here are a few key places to start. By beginning with small changes and working upwards you can immediately make your home more efficient. As an added bonus, you’ll also notice a positive effect on your energy bills each month.

Start With Small Changes

Making your home energy efficient and sustainable is a big job, but you can take on some small projects right away while you plan for larger renovations.

If you’re still stockpiling incandescent bulbs, it’s time to make the switch to LEDs. They last longer (up to 50,000 hours) and use less energy than your old incandescent bulbs.

Install timers on your appliances and electronics so they shut down when they’re not likely to be in use. This is perfect for during the day while you’re at work, or late at night after you’ve gone to bed.

Make sure you are changing your furnace and HRV air filters regularly – I change mine every three months. During the summer and winter while your system is working harder, you should check them monthly. If you’re in the middle of a renovation, you will want to avoid using your system, but if that’s unavoidable, check the filters every two weeks.

Take Care of the Outside First

When people talk about their dream home, often they mention things like open concept kitchens, and a swimming pool, or hot tub. These are what I call the “lipstick and mascara” projects. They’re great additions to any home, but should only be applied once you’ve properly protected the house from the outside.

I always say to start by making sure your building envelope is sealed. What I mean by that is taking care of problem areas in your home where you see a lot of heat loss. Your HVAC system will have to work overtime to compensate when you have major areas where air is escaping from the home.

The average home loses about 30 per cent of its heat because of air leakage – usually around your windows and doors. Spring is a good opportunity to check the caulking around your home and replace damaged areas. Use a rubberized caulking because it lasts longer, and it’s flexible so it can expand and contract with the house.

Your attic can be a major source of heat loss if it’s not properly insulated. The temperature in your attic is meant to match the air outside, and strengthening your insulating power is a good way to keep it that way. I would insulate with at least one inch of closed-cell spray foam, topped up with cellulose, which will give you the air tightness you need to keep heat from escaping.

To me, the mark of a real dream home is if it’s a net-zero home. That means the home produces as much energy as it consumes.

Harness Renewable Energy

I believe that using renewable energy sources – like solar energy is something that we should be striving to include in all of our future building. To me, harnessing renewable energy sources to power our homes isn’t just the sustainable option – it’s the smart one.

Unfortunately, the reality is that for many homeowners it just isn’t an affordable option yet. While you will consistently see savings on your energy bill, the heavy cost upfront can stop most solar projects before they start.

However, just because now isn’t the right time to install solar panels, that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare your home to add solar down the road. For example, if you’re building a house from the ground up, you can have the builders rough in for solar. This means that when you do decide to add solar panels, your installers won’t have to work around the pipes and wires already in your home.

It’s up to all of us to make sure we’re leaving the planet in good condition for our kids and grandkids. As more homeowners begin to adopt sustainability projects into their homes, we will start to see the cost become much more reasonable to the average homeowner. Let’s all do our part to make it right.

Watch Mike Holmes in his series, Holmes Makes It Right, on HGTV. For more information, visit makeitright.ca.